Tory Administration Barnet Council BUDGET 2006 SHOWS SHOCK SERVICE CUTS.
We detail these proposed cuts below and give you the details of the Lib. Dem. budget to be proposed at the Council Budget meeting on Tuesday March 7th.
Environmental and Street Officer cuts.
At the pre-Christmas Council the Tory Administration unveiled their Budget for next year. There will be severe cuts in services noticeably the Street Enforcement officers who are being slashed from 35 to just 10. These are the men and women who are the eyes and ears of the Council, ensuring that our streets footways and environmental problems are noticed and dealt with. This massive cut in front line staff will result in longer delays in repairs to footways and roads, longer delays in cleaning graffiti, fly-tipping, dumped vehicles and many other problems. They are also not filling the post of Head of Environment and those of further three environmental staff which shows a cavalier treatment of environmental issues. At the same time a massive £225,000 is being cut from the popular and effective block cleaning service.
Cultural and Library cuts.
They have abolished the post of Head of Cultural Services, persuaded the Head of Bibliographic services to take early retirement and cut £200,000 from the fund that produces new books and media for the libraries (over 20% cut over the last two years.)
Parking up - Road Maintenance down
They are budgeting for a further massive £1million in income from parking in a continuing fleecing of the motorist while slashing the Highways Maintenance programme by a massive £600,000.
Parks and Greenspaces
£175,000 has been cut from the Greenspaces budget following constant reorganization of the department. However it is wrapped up this must mean a significant reduction in the care and salubriousness of our green spaces.
Expenditure
Despite reducing front line staff they are budgeting for an increase in office space costing £250,000.
Despite even more cuts than last year, the Tories seem to believe that they will still be re-elected as Barnet’s majority Party in May 2006. We believe the electorate has more sense as the Dec. 2005 election of Lib. Dem.Duncan Macdonald to the Tory Heartland ward of High Barnet clearly showed.
LIB DEM BUDGET PROPOSALS (nil rise in Council Tax this year).
THE 2006 LIBERAL DEMOCRAT ALTERNATIVE BUDGET which has been validated by the Borough Treasurer shows these cuts are unnecessary. We propose:-
*Saving our libraries, including restoring £150,000 to the book fund, reinstating the axed mobile library,, and resoring the opening hours at East Finchley Library. We also intend to reopen Toteridge Library by the sale of part of the land on that site.
*Restore the noise control services so that they operate for more hours at a cost of £94,000
*Increase the street enforcement service by 10 additional staff at a cost of £150,000
*Reinstatee Wood Street Registrars Office
*Improve the free weekend skip service at a cost of £10,000
*Restore the Grant of £30,000 to Local Agenda 21, the champions of the environment
*Restore £150,000 which was removed from our youth service
*We will fund these improvements by cuts in detailed non frontline services, and a use of Reserves which we believe have been too hastily built up to an unnecessary size
*FINALLY THIS LIBERAL DEMOCRAT BUDGET FOR 2006/7 WILL PRODUCE A NIL %RISE IN COUNCIL TAX THIS YEAR.